Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Vegan Drinks at Young Avenue Deli

It's Vegan Drinks time again! Tonight, we met for our monthly Memphis Vegan Drinks at the Young Avenue Deli.

We had a bigger crowd than we've had for awhile! Yay! And we finally had patio weather. Truth be told, I'd planned for us to sit inside since there's more room inside this popular Cooper-Young bar. But there was some kind of private event happening until 5:30 p.m., which is when we met up. And when we tried to find a large table inside, the special event crowd was still lingering. So we opted for patio. Thankfully, the weather was perfect but the sun was a little too bright.

Young Avenue Deli had a Dogfish Head Ale tasting today, so it was "buy the beer, keep the glass night." We all scanned the Dogfish Head menu, and I opted for the Indian Brown Ale (7% ABV). Unfortunately, the "keep the glass" thing only applied for draft beers, and the Indian Brown was in a bottle. Sigh.

But that was okay because I picked the Dogfish Head Ale Midas Touch (9% ABV) for my next beer. I got to keep this glass!

But as you all know, I'm a "drink (or eat) first, ask questions later" kind of girl. A quick search of Barnivore when I got home shows that Midas Touch, a high-gravity beer made with ingredients found in 2,700-year-old drinking vessels from the tomb of King Midas, is NOT VEGAN. That's because it's brewed with honey. I'm not upset about it, but I wouldn't order it again. The Indian Brown Ale, however, is TOTALLY VEGAN!

Most everyone else at the table ordered Dogfish Head beers as well, so I didn't shoot many drink pics tonight. I did snap this one of Paul with his Victory Golden Monkey (yes, it's vegan). We were apparently all about the high-gravity beers tonight.

weet
yet dry beer is made with ingredients found in 2,700-year-old drinking
vessels from the tomb of King Midas. - See more at:
http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-brews/year-round-brews/midas-touch.htm#sthash.ED9UF45Q.dpuf

weet
yet dry beer is made with ingredients found in 2,700-year-old drinking
vessels from the tomb of King Midas. - See more at:
http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-brews/year-round-brews/midas-touch.htm#sthash.ED9UF45Q.dpuf

weet
yet dry beer is made with ingredients found in 2,700-year-old drinking
vessels from the tomb of King Midas. - See more at:
http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-brews/year-round-brews/midas-touch.htm#sthash.ED9UF45Q.dpuf

weet
yet dry beer is made with ingredients found in 2,700-year-old drinking
vessels from the tomb of King Midas. - See more at:
http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-brews/year-round-brews/midas-touch.htm#sthash.ED9UF45Q.dpuf

As for the food, the Young Avenue Deli offers a number of vegan options. I usually go with what Cassi ordered — Marinated Tofu Pita with Fried Tofu (tofu, lettuce, tomato, sprouts) and the Deli's famous French Fries.

But tonight, I wanted to mix things up. I've never tried the Hummus Pita, and I was in a hummus mood (when am I not?!) — hummus, tomato cucumber. It was good. They were generous with the hummus.

Sheila was also in a hummus mood, so she ordered the Hummus Plate. Look at her stylin'.

Here's a Hummus Plate close-up.

And Nicole ordered the Vegetarian Chili.

There were a few other dishes ordered, but it seemed that most people opted for sandwiches. So I didn't snap any more pics. We had a great time, and even though I had one non-vegan drink, at least I learned something in the process. And I got a free glass!

I looooove Dogfishhead beers! If you get a chance, try their 61 Minute IPA - it's brewed with Syrah Grape Must. As much as I love my local beer and homebrewing scene (Cincinnati has a great one), I can't pass up a good Dogfishhead brew. I looove Victory Golden Monkey, too!

I'm not a big drinker but I love the idea of being able to keep the glass! I've never heard of that, it's so fun! The food there looks incredible. Both sandwiches look great and that hummus plate looks delicious too! Sounds like a really fun time!